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Duet in Stereo #1

We're still running at reduced capacity but after emptying out the YTMND bank account, we have a lot of new hardware on the way. A good portion of our systems are relatively old at this point, so I think it should make for some major improvements in speed. There will be some downtime sometime next week but I hope to get it done in the wee-hours so it doesn't bother anyone. More information on the new hardware inside.

New Hardware

Master DB Server

CPU: 2x8 core 2.3Ghz

Memory: 64GB 1333MHz

HD: 4x128GB MLC SSD in RAID 10

This is such a massive upgrade to the current system which it's replacing that I'm not sure if we will even need slave databases anymore, despite costing roughly the same. I'm also planning on moving from MySQL server/InnoDB engine to the Percona Server/XtraDB engine, which I think should also have a big performance improvement on this hardware. I think once migrated, we could easily bring back the API, even if no one uses it. This machine is currently running the YTMNDEV database, and the minecraft server. It probably won't go into production until YTMND "2.1" launches.

Master Content Server

CPU: 1x8 core 2.3Ghz

Memory: 32GB 1333MHz

HD: 12x1TB SAS drives, in some sort of RAID

This isn't a huge upgrade except in terms of memory and space, but it would make us redundant in that the old master content server could be a "hot backup". At any rate, things should be snappier once it's in place, which I hope to happen some time in the next couple weeks.

YTMND "2.1" Status Update

The next version of YTMND is, for the most part, aesthetic changes. There will be some bug-fixes, and new features, but mostly it's implementing the new design and a big cleanup of the HTML/CSS/JS. HTML is being rewritten to HTML5 instead of XHMTL, which I think in the long run will make my life easier. These changes have long been under way but due to numerous hardware issues and a flaring-up of piriformis syndrome, it isn't nearly as far along as I'd like. I was hoping to launch before 4/1, then I was hoping to launch by 4/1, and now I'm hoping to be done by 5/1. I'm freelancing full time as well, so I really only have a chance to work on YTMND on weeknights.

Almost every comp that we've ever paid a designer to do has included some element of including user-created images around the site, which frankly scares the shit out of me because it's a moderation nightmare. These days, it isn't as much of an issue for me because of the lack of commercial traffic focused on the front page, and more-so, my lack of sentiment for YTMND users. In the past, I didn't want to enable features which could be abused because I didn't want to have to delete users. These days, I don't care so much; with the new design, not marking your YTMNDs as NSFW will result in deletion of your account without warning.

The 2.1 design includes many visual changes from the current site, some of these existed in the original 2.0 design comps, but due to me rushing it to production and the moderation issues mentioned below, they never made it. Various pages around the site will incorporate image previews in new ways. Against my normal rule of "don't show the users new designs until launch", I'm posting up some previews for you so you have an idea what I'm talking about:

The new "Up and Coming":

I still haven't decided If I'm going to allow alternate images to be uploaded for these previews, or if it will force you to crop a current image, or what.

"Generic content boxes":

Smaller thumbnails will be used in various places around the site, I'm not sure yet if they'll be a smaller version of the currently automatic thumbnails used on the site profile, or a custom image/crop, but most likely the former.

This new design will very likely last quite a long time. I want to focus more on making YTMND stable and then adding features for the next few years. So if you mind the new design, you're fucked.

Moderation

One of the major impediments of a fully-featured moderation system has been being able to adequately track and undo moderator actions. A combination of me being a control freak, and YTMND's database not being designed in a way conducive to restoring deleted data has lead to moderation on YTMND to always be a bit of a joke; moderators (and even super moderators) have never had much power. To be honest, I'm not sure if they should have very much power, but in an effort to make YTMND more self-sufficient, after the new design, moderation is going to be a big focus for me. A lot of the features I wrote for the original moderation system never got updated for all the YTMND 2.0 changes, so they need some TLC. At that point I'll invite a very small number of users to be mods, and we'll go from there to see if it's necessary to add more people.

For those of you who want to be moderators, or for those of you who still care about YTMND, the most helpful thing you can do right now for YTMND is to accurately report on bugs and add feature requests at the new bug tracker. For the time being please avoid submitting visual and browser-related bugs and feature requests. Since we should have completely new HTML and CSS soon, a lot of the bugs won't be applicable.

Hey max, for the sake of punchline security, it would be nice to be able to upload a separate image vice the crop/capture option. Also, will the view count be gone from the top viewed as depicted above? Just curious.

I mentioned below I may let users choose a default image for that very reason, not completely sure yet. The view count will most likely be back, as far as I know that was just an oversight by the designer.

Perhaps we could do something sort of like youtube where we put a frame in a certain part of the gif, and thats whats displayed. I mean, all the popular youtubers do it, and they always have great content...

The new design is a bit more traditional and less busy. One thing that's always bugged me about the current design is the way the darker colors and gradients play tricks with your eyes. Anyway, I think the new design will have a much wider acceptance.

also, i think random people who pass over the site will be far more interested in clicking on links if they see thumbnail images. i know i would. for me, being confronted with lists is a huge turnoff. when i look at porn, i want to have an idea of what i'm about to see.

Yes, almost every designer has mentioned that, and it's always been an issue. Wall of text is not nearly as visually appealing as thumbnails.

I've always been somewhat sentimental for only knowing the title when you view a YTMND versus having an image which might give away a joke. I may offer some sort of option to allow you to use a default image if you don't want to give it away. Not sure yet.

i never thought of the "giving away the joke" part of it. i think the default image option may be essential. maybe eventually there could be a feature that allows you to upload an image specifically for the preview image. that might add an added comedic element to viewing sites. not only could images me misleading on purpose, but site-relevant jokes could be expanded upon in new ways. also, users could use that space as an avatar display, without creating an option for users to have actual avatars.

Max, I've always come to this site when I wanted to express myself or escape from the crap life seems to throw on you without remorse. My drunk ass genuinely cares what happens to this site and where it goes. Don't fuck it up

It will be like the first preview image. A big white strip down the middle and a blue pattern on the sides/margin.

That being said, I've moved over to using SASS, so making the site have an alternate color scheme would not be too much work, granted I'll probably never do it, but someone else could if they desired it.

Everything seems to be looking good ... the only thing that comes to mind is reconciling that italicized grotesque type you're showing in the screen shots with the "Saturday Morning Cartoon" nature of the YTMND logo. Maybe when the whole site is revealed it will look better. It's not exactly like the logo fits with the "Gothic Bordello" scheme we have going right now.

Hm, I like the proposed redesign, but I also like the over all darker color scheme of the current layout - it creates less eyestrain, especially when viewing the site at night... with all the lights out...

I love your new site visuals. It is very clean and easy to understand. It is also beautiful.

I also want to express my sympathy for your piriformis syndrome.

I had a thought. What if you told us YTMNDers how much all the new server upgrades cost? I am sure that there are some here who would like to help by donating. That includes myself. Until I get hired by someone, I can only give a small amount now.

If you programed it to do a small playback of a gif when you highlighted a link, it would awesome. Doesn't even have to be the full frame rate, just a small preview. I've been part of YTMND a long time and even though I have my inactivity points I still check up. I honestly dislike this site layout now especially comparing to older layouts.

The new layout looks good. It would be nice to have a button that changed the white background to a black one. I think it appeals to the eye more than a bright white one, especially if you keep your gamma up for gaming. Other than that, good job.

and you still jerk off to still frame images of the both of us in your mom's basement, and have to rush to zip your pants back up and try to [i]act natural[/i] when you hear her coming down to do your laundry.

It pisses me off that I can't donate some money. I don't have a job and I still get pocket money from my parents! Absolutely ridiculous, especially for the fact that I'm 24. I feel like I have (and want to) donate because I come here every day and, essentially, I use bandwidth.

it's ok, i've been there too. it just happens that way sometimes. be happy you have a family that can (and i assume wants to, or at least is willing to) support you. it's not something to be ashamed of, as long as that dependency isn't carried into your adult life for years and years.

Now that there are ads on the subdomains and I'm not trying to use YTMND income to pay for my rent and groceries, YTMND earns enough to pay for itself and save for a rainy day. Don't feel bad about not sponsoring stuff, we're okay money-wise.

If we had a significant rise in income, we could hire another person on to do some "community management" or coding or any of the many tasks that I have on my plate which get overlooked when I'm spread too thin. I think that's a pipe dream at the moment though.

That said, I've been working over some numbers and it looks like with the reduced number of sponsorships it looks like it would be worth it to increase the amount of time sponsorships last, from a week to more like 12-14 days, so in the future sponsorship should be worth a bit more. I also want to make note of the Kiva deal on the sponsorship page, because I'm still honoring those.

First of all, you make all kinds of vicious jokes about people.Second, I just don't come here as much as other people. Meaning, I did not see that news post. I have large gaps of not being here.Third, as a practical note, AA has a terrible track record - very little success by it's own records. It is clear to see that this probably was not one of their success stories - with at least 3 years going. I am sorry to say that Syncan, while well intentioned, probably spent that money in vain.

Wow, I never realized how hard I was hit by alt votes. Now that the alts have been deleted and their votes with them, nearly all my sites ratings went up quite a bit. I had no idea I had been trolled that hard.

Yeah, at least 28 votes on my top rated site(s) have been deleted. And there are still several Stop-Trolling- votes that have yet to be deleted. So, a big FUCK YOU to the people who say I can't make decent sites. The true ratings speak for themselves. (Yes, I'm expecting this comment to be downvoted too)

[i]So, a big FUCK YOU to the people who say I can't make decent sites[/i]

Eric, you've made the 4th most sites in YTMND history yet the only site you've ever made that was a real 'top rated' site consists of an audio file Keaton made and a screen shot of part of an existing YTMND page.

So let's recap: 4th most sites + Worst site ratings

All of your sites suck. You're not funny. You're lazy. You're not creative. You're not interesting. You're too stupid and banal to entertain anyone.Here's an idea, jackass, try to find something you're not the worst at. And spend all your free time doing that instead. Because you really the worst YTMNDer.

4th most sites + No top rated sites that you actually made = The Worst

I can't even fathom how anyone could vote 5 on every site posted, all day, every fucking day, like you do, for 5 years and still completely fail to get their own sites exposure. And indeed, I can't fathom you as you say without a hint of humor "The true rating speak for themselves". The ratings say - you're the worst YTMNDer in history. By a wide margin.

And of course what some idiots say in defense of someone like you is, "It's a community". Which is true. But, in the community the thing that you're most known for is your obsession with the communities most popular site maker. Namely me. Harassment, stalking, just pure obsession. For going on two years. That's your life - Being obsessed with me.

"What's that, I have free time? I think I'll stalk that person who makes those popular websites on YTMND for the next 6 hours. Until I get sleepy."So; Worst Site Maker / Detriment to the community

Your obsession with me, by the way, stems from nothing but the most ridiculous and delusional, petty egotism. Even though most of the people who ever voted on your sites have rated them poorly, and most of the people who have ever voted on my sites have voted very highly, you feel that it's wrong for me to give your sites the same ratings everyone else does while you give my sites the same ratings everyone else does.That's the real insanity - that you're so far from understanding about yourself.

I have a problem here. Or, at least, I think it is. I may seem a little harsh, but please consider this a sincere statement not intended to offend anyone.

I still don't understand why some of you, after years, keep on pushing a sort of personality. Let me be clear: you promote yourself with a name and a general behavior, and most of the time you are at war with one or more other screen names. You force your character trying (often desperately) to be popular (or unpopular) in this very small community. But to my eyes you fail to impress me on so many levels. Sometimes I even lose track of your actions, and I come here maybe 20 times a day. But it's not that I actively follow your movements, it's that you are almost everywhere, yet you seem to arouse interest in very few people. You even make sites about users, as if your sole obsession wasn't enough. If I had to name you as a homogeneous group you would surely be a "band of futility" and still as a whole you wouldn't get much attention.

Predictability is one of your few mottos. And I don't mean it like "Craig Ferguson is predictable", because he is an established comedian. You are not. I can even predict the content of the replies to this message: one of you, most probably the first, will downvote this comment and write "didn't read"; another one will make a half-witty statement about how I'm playing their game just by talking about them; another one will reply to the first reply with at least two accounts, with links to sites about the user who made the first reply; then the conversation would fall into a confusing mix of unoriginal offensive remarks. I could say more but it's not worth it.

If I had to see a change in your pattern, I wouldn't believe it. You are like a dead rotten body who doesn't want to realize it's dead. So it keeps doing the same things over and over. Even the supposedly most dangerous member of your band of futility fails to impress, the only unusual feature be exploiting a bug in the site code. And with a very little creative outcome. You try to make a 4chan-esque repetition fit into a structure that is not intended, not even suitable for such actions. You keep on doing it, since 2006 at least, and you still don't understand it. I suppose you make this for your own enjoyment, but why doing it here? It's like riding a bike with square wheels.

YTMND is a flexible community, but not much. You are trying to break it, but the more you bend it, the more it becomes stiff, and eventually it will push you out as it comes back to its original shape.

Well, the funny URL's are one thing but there is some idiot that keeps doing it with cj.com [ like here for example http://ytmnd.com/sites/957011/profile ]. I don't know if they think they are getting some SEO benefit from it or what but they most certainly are not linking to sites. They are an advertisement company, but I doubt that anyone on YTMND is paying them to advertise their stupid web sites.

I'm aware how immature this sort of thing is but I just watched a movie on TCM called The Gay Sisters and it was about this family named the Gaylords and they must have said Gaylord 5,000 times. All in early 1940s vernacular. Like "We Gaylords are a queer bunch", and so on.

I've looked for a torrent or youtube of it but can't find it. Please someone come through and YTMND this movie.

Here's part 1 of the entire movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1vz3OTQfXs I assume you can find the other 7 parts, but I may be giving you too much credit. PM me if you can't find the rest of it.

Your above question makes no sense. It's not really me? What are you talking about?

You asked "someone come through and YTMND this movie." I hook you up, and you still give it a 1? Try and do something nice for some people. Are you going to log on with your alts and downvote my site with them too?

For all your sites you simply take someone elses popular, original gif and add a poorly shopped head paste to it. In this one it's just a screen shot you've added the same head paste to and not someone else's popular, original gif. So I was making fun of your lack of creatively and talent. You're kind of stupid, huh? Well, not a lot of Mensas join the US army I guess.

I didn't start a flame war, I merely posted a link to what you were referencing, which actually demonstrated the humorous content. Then I used the material to make a funny website, which is what you wanted. You were the one that started flaming me. The nicest and friendliest user on YTMND, maker of the funniest and most popular headpasted websites on the internets.

I think that what the people are really tired of is when cheaters downvote their sites with multiple accounts. There really isn't any act that's more negative and nasty than that, is there?

That doesn't actually come close to proving anything. But long before you made that account to cheat I caught you cheating and you claimed that it was actually your dying brother who was mashing his lobster claw hand on the mouse to up vote all your sites. Apparently he was legally blind and quite brain dead at the time but he honestly felt that the rest of the YTMND community needed to see your 500th repost of a flashing, two-color gif and screeching audio.

But that doesn't matter. No matter how much effort you put into making sure no one ever comes here ever again just make sure you hold your imagined standing among the garygnu's and rodheh's of the 'community'. Because that's something you can be proud of. Apparently.

[site enterprisegoesbacktothefuture:site] Meh, my computer died and I had to get a new one. This is the only one I remember or still doing it. I decided to wait and see what would happen and it finally started 32 seconds after the assets loaded. (Why do people give away the joke in the URL). Not sure if that has anything to do with Firefox or not. IE9 did do this.